Exclusive Interview with Thomas But Event Stylist and Lifestyle Expert
I am very excited to have the opportunity to interview Thomas Bui. I have been an admirer of Thomas for years. He is an famous west coast event designer and lifestyle personality. The quality of his amazing work speaks for itself. I hope you enjoy this read. I included a link to his web site at the end of this article.
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www.yourweddingcolors.net
Thomas, who has been the most influential person in your life? Can you tell us something about them?
My parents, Dr. Tien & Yen Bui, were born and raised in Vietnam, my family immigrated to the United States when I was 7 yrs. old. It was April 29, 1975, the last day of freedom before the communist took over Vietnam. My family is originally from Hanoi, Northern Vietnam then moved to the Saigon where I was born and raised.
My grandmother the matriarch of the family was a widow most of her life and raised 4 girls by herself. My mom, the baby of the family was only 2 yrs. when my grandfather was murdered due to his political affiliations. My grandmother was always a business-minded person and was CFO (chief financial officer) of her cement business company back in Vietnam.
My dad was the minister of public health and my mom studied culinary/pastry at Cordon Bleu in France. Since Vietnam used to be a French Colony, we all spoke French as our 1st language and all the schooling was taught in French, while Vietnamese was taught at home.
After escaping Vietnam my family (extended family included, there were 100 of us) lived on a boat with thousands of other people fleeing Vietnam for a better life. It took many months before coming to America, and it was a struggle since they didn’t speak English and worked minimum wage to survive. For years we all lived in the same house to save money while learning the American way of life. Everyone worked 2 jobs until we established a better foundation.
My dad went back to Pharmacy School at 50 years old in Alabama, while my mom was working and taking care of my brother and me in San Diego. She was the breadwinner during this time frame, working full-time, schooling us kids, baking goods to sell to make extra money, while paying for my dad’s tuition.
These days my parents are enjoying their success and comfortable lifestyle after years of financial hardship. This October my parents will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary.
What has been your biggest career challenge?
There’s always challenges with any career, there’s really no perfect job in any field, but I would say we have it pretty nice in the wedding business with all the parties, outings, wine and dine events and meeting new people.
At 1st getting started was a challenge, balancing a job during the day, returning calls and taking care of clients needs during breaks. Just not enough hours in the day to do everything we need to get done. Going out meeting new vendors and clients than having to prove your worth, it took awhile to get established.
These days I feel, the more establish you are in the business the more work it is to keep up with daily tasks, work flow, social media, etc. I’ve never worked as much as I do now, owning your business is a lot of work, trying to balance work and life, and when you work from home you keep going and don’t when to stop. A lot of days, I’m working until 11:00 pm answering emails that I can’t get to during the day.
What are you most proud of?
That I never settle for mediocrity regardless of a client’s budget. I love to challenge myself by working at a new venue or with a new vendor. I Love to transform and build a vision from the ground up and craft something amazing that clients didn’t think is possible. It’s more stressful to work at a venue that’s not used to a big transformation, but it’s more fun to try something different all the time. I love designing a project that takes a year to collaborate and think of the logistics, get permits, multiple site inspections, etc. this is where you know the sky’s the limit
I’m also proud that I’m able to think beyond the existing structure to make the impossible possible for the clients. It’s fun to dream for my clients and create an event for them that is better than what they’ve imagined. I’m always excited for the challenge when a client books a venue that I want because they want me to design something that hasn’t been done before, it is such an amazing complement.
How would you like to be remembered?
I want to be remembered for crafting and creating signature events, exquisite moments frozen in time never to be forgotten. All my events have an air of elegance and European sophistication, I would like to be remembered as someone that can envision and transform any space or event, no matter how casual the theme and take it to the next level for the clients.
http://www.thomasbuilifestyle.com